The US and Israel on Feb 28 launched what they described as a “pre-emptive” joint strike against Iranian targets, with Trump announcing start of “major combat operations”
Pakistan hosted the first round of face-to-face talks between the US and Iran in 47 years in April; the talks ended without a breakthrough, but also without a breakdown
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, has discussed the US-Iran war in a phone call with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Al Jazeera reports citing a statement from Doha.
The two officials have discussed Pakistan’s mediation efforts and how their countries can “support and enhance them”, the statement reads.
They stress the necessity to “address the roots of the crisis through peaceful means and dialogue, leading to a sustainable agreement that prevents the renewal of escalation,” it adds.
As US kamikaze drones guided by Elon Musk’s Starlink network began to make visible gains in the war against Iran, senior SpaceX officials raised the price for the Pentagon to access their satellite Wi-Fi network, according to Reuters.
Within weeks of the United States launching its bombing campaign, SpaceX executives met Pentagon officials and argued the military had been paying about $5,000 for a connection per terminal while effectively using a higher tier of service worth closer to $25,000, according to two sources familiar with the matter and Pentagon documents reviewed by Reuters.
The disagreement over Starlink’s use on LUCAS kamikaze drones is part of increasing tensions between SpaceX and the Pentagon over Starlink pricing in recent months, according to interviews with five people familiar with the matter and the documents.
The Pentagon, which is seeking to help Iranian citizens bypass government-imposed communications blackouts, has also been at odds with SpaceX over pricing for a plan to provide the populace direct-to-cell connections with Starlink akin to 5G service, two of the sources say.
The ongoing disputes, which have not previously been reported, underscore how the Pentagon’s growing reliance on SpaceX is handing Musk greater leverage over a critical layer of US national security at a time when SpaceX is seeking to boost revenue ahead of an IPO next month that could be among the biggest in history.
A person takes photos of a trail as the Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites streaks across the sky in the latest SpaceX launch as viewed from Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California, the US on April 6, 2026. — Reuters/File
An Israeli air raid has hit the town of Mashghara, in Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa region, after the military issued a forced evacuation order for Mashghara and Sahma, Al Jazeera reports, citing the National News Agency.
The state-run news agency also says three Israeli air strikes targeted the vicinity of the Qaraoun Dam, Lebanon’s largest dam, in the Beqaa Valley.
In the Tyre district of southern Lebanon, Civil Defence personnel have recovered the bodies of four women from under the rubble of a home in the town of Maraka.
Mohammad Reza Aref, Iran’s Vice President, has confirmed the country took the “first step” towards restoring full internet access, ending what a monitoring group said was one of the longest shutdowns in modern history, Al Jazeera reports.
“In line with the government’s promise, the first step towards free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken,” Aref says on X.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, parliament speaker and head of Iran’s negotiating delegation, returned from Qatar to Iran about an hour ago, Al Jazeera reports, citing a Telegram post by state broadcaster IRIB.
The delegation included Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the head of Iran’s Central Bank, Abdolnaser Hemmati — a presence that analysts have said signalled the talks were also focused on Iranian frozen assets, which Tehran wants to see unlocked as part of any agreement with Washington.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has had a telephone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, with both leaders discussing bilateral relations, as well as regional and global developments, according to the Turkish Presidency.
“During the conversation, President Erdogan stated that due to the ongoing conflict in the region, the holiday was being observed with sadness, and that he believed the Iranian people would overcome these difficult times and attain safety and peace,” a statement reads.
Erdogan also notes that Turkiye is working together with allied countries to “ensure peace and stability, and that they will continue to provide every possible support for negotiations to achieve positive results”.
A senior spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces has warned that any resumption of US and Israeli air strikes on Iran would meet a “heavier” and “stronger” retaliation, Al Jazeera reports.
“If the region enters another round of war, Iran’s response will extend beyond regional borders and will be much heavier and stronger,” Abolfazl Shekarchi says in remarks carried by the semi-official news agency Fars.
US President Donald Trump is set to hold a rare cabinet meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat as Iran talks near a critical point, a White House official tells AFP.
The choice of the secluded retreat in the Maryland mountains — which Trump hardly ever visits, in a break with previous presidents — reflects the sensitive nature of discussions.
The New York Post reports that Iran was set to dominate the meeting, which was expected to be attended by all cabinet members. The economy is also on the agenda, it adds.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar says that the current crisis in the international system is being caused not by the lack of principles, but by their selective application.
“The principles are there, and have been clearly spelt out and globally agreed,” he tells the UN Security Council. “The crisis lies in their selective application.
“When sovereignty is defended in one case, but disregarded in another, the [UN] Charter is weakened,” he adds.
Dar states that if UN Security Council resolutions are selectively invoked, it erodes the credibility of the institution.
“This selectivity is very dangerous. It breeds mistrust, fuels grievances, encourages unilateralism and weakens the very multilateral system we claim to uphold,” he stresses.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that during his visit to China at the end of March, Beijing and Islamabad announced a five-point initiative for regional peace and stability in the Middle East.
“Another prolonged conflict would serve no one. It would endanger regional peace, disrupt global energy flows, deepen humanitarian suffering and strain an already fragile international order,” he tells the UN Security Council. “The path forward lies in diplomacy.”
Dar adds that Pakistan has exerted efforts to facilitate a durable solution to the Middle East war that keeps maritime routes open and results in lasting peace.
Israeli media reports that the military expanded its ground operations in southern Lebanon beyond the “Yellow Line”, an Israeli-drawn demarcation line near the border, though the reports gave no further details on the extent of the advance, according to Reuters.
The Israeli military has issued a forced evacuation order for the towns of Mashghara and Sahmar, in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, Al Jazeera reports.
“In light of the terrorist Hezbollah party violating the ceasefire agreement, the Defence Army is compelled to act against it forcefully,” it says in a statement.
Iran’s Deputy Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Bagheri, has arrived in Russia to attend a Moscow security forum, Al Jazeera reports.
Bagheri is scheduled to deliver a speech at the conference and hold meetings with senior Russian political and security officials, Iranian state media reported.
The International Security Forum is Russia’s most important annual event in the field of regional and global security, held with the participation of officials from various countries and international organisations.
Israel’s military says its air force downed several explosive drones fired by Hezbollah towards Israel, while several other drones fell inside Israeli territory near the border with Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi has thanked the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for supporting Beirut during a “sensitive phase”, a day after the GCC issued a statement condemning Hezbollah’s interference in Bahrain’s internal affairs, Al Jazeera reports.
Raggi has spoken with GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, expressing gratitude for Gulf backing.
Albudaiwi earlier condemned “irresponsible” comments by Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem regarding Bahrain’s judicial and security measures against individuals convicted of spying for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Qassem criticised Bahrain’s handling of Lebanese residents with alleged Hezbollah links, with Manama having deported several such individuals earlier in May.
The internet monitoring group Netblocks has said in a post on X that live data showed partial restoration of internet connectivity in Iran, Reuters reports.
Iranian state media reported a day earlier that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had issued an order to reopen international internet access, after a near-90-day blackout in the wake of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s (IRGC) Aerospace Force, Seyed Majid Moosavi, says it is prepared to respond following what he described as ceasefire violations against Iran by the US during ongoing peace talks, Al Jazeera reports.
In a post on X, Moosavi has criticised ongoing diplomacy, saying “negotiation with the enemy is pure loss”.
He says the air force — which oversees Iran’s strategic ballistic missile and drone programmes — remains “highly vigilant, fully prepared for a decisive, swift response,” and is awaiting final orders from the commander-in-chief.
Lebanon’s health ministry has said that an Israeli strike a day earlier killed at least 11 people, two of them children, as the Israeli military said it had launched strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure.
In a statement, the ministry said that “yesterday’s Israeli enemy airstrike on the town of Mashghara in West Bekaa resulted in a preliminary toll of 11 martyrs, including two girls and a woman, and 15 wounded, including a child”, adding that rescuers were still clearing the rubble in the eastern town.
Iran’s Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi has conveyed a message from President Pezeshkian to the president of Tajikistan, highlighting solidarity between the two nations and Iran’s readiness to expand cooperation on water and energy, according to posts by the government of Iran on X.
The minister warned that “targeting civilian water and energy infrastructure threatens public health, food security, the environment, and regional stability,” stressing the need for stronger international protection mechanisms, the government said.
Iran’s judiciary has suspended a presidential body that had ordered the restoration of internet access after months of near-total blackout since the start of the war with the US and Israel, AFP reports.
The judicial decision targeted the “Special Headquarters for Organising and Governing the Country’s Cyberspace”, a body formed on May 12 by President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The body had reached a decision a day earlier to “restore the internet” in Iran, according to government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani, after local media reported that Pezeshkian had decreed the measure.
An explosion close to the waterline damaged a tanker off Oman, a marine monitor has said, as tensions remain high around the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, AFP reports.
“The crew and vessel are safe, although the master reports some bunker fuel has discharged into the sea,” UK Maritime Trade Operations said.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has extended an invitation to Muslim countries to work with Tehran to find a “resolution of the Islamic world’s problems”.
In a pos on X, the supreme leader said, “I, with sincerity and purity of intention, invite all Islamic countries and governments to friendship and cooperation in goodness, so that by working together we may take steps toward the advancement of the Islamic Ummah and the resolution of the Islamic world’s problems”.
